Anthropology

Fields of anthropology

Physical anthropology: 

PALEOANTHROPOLOGY: Studies bone and stone remains of ancient humans. Attempts to understand evolution. Uses evolution to explain human variation

PRIMATOLOGY: Studies primates both living and extinct

HUMAN VARIATION: The study of the physical differences and similarities of existing human populations

Humans & evolution: 

Humans are homo sapiens. *Homo habilis were the first to have thumbs that have the ability to grab things, but they never used them

Bipedalism: To habitually walk on two legs. Humans are the only primate with this adaptation.

Structural changes were required for us to walk upright

S-shaped spine

Double arched foot

Pelvis – shorter and wider

More gluteus muscles

Fewer head / neck muscles – therefore a bigger brain

Advantages of being bipedal: Free hands for carrying. Can walk longer distances. Can have a continuous view of surroundings.

Charles Darwin: 

Heritability: Organisms inherit characteristics from their parents 

Variation: There is a lot of variation within a species 

Survival of the Fittest: Those traits that allow an individual to survive and reproductive age - to pass on to offspring

Ardi

Found by a team of 47 researchers in Ethiopia, he is the oldest and most complete hominid skeleton discovered, he is 4.4-million years-old! Lived over a million years before Australopithecus afarensis Showed evidence of both upright walking and tree-climbing abilities, suggesting early hominins were adapted to mixed environments. 

Race & human variation: From an anthropological perspective, what do we know about “race”? 

Anthropologists study human variation, or the genetic differences between people and populations, to understand the differences between people. 

Race does not exist as a scientific category. More genetic variation exists within races than between them. An individual's behaviour and personality are largely conditioned by his or her culture. The idea of race has been used in the past to justify social, economic, and political inequalities and excuse hatred. 

All mammal populations in warmer climates have more melanin (dark pigment). Darker skin provides protection from ultraviolet rays, which can cause skin cancer.

Primates:

• Who are our closest living relatives? 

Bonobos and chimpanzees share 98.5%-98.7% of their DNA with humans

Jane Goodall 

Observed chimpanzees in the field for 56 years

They lived in damp, solitary, and difficult conditions.

They had to get the primates to accept them as one of their own before they could really learn from them. 

Each Primatologist had to learn to imitate their calls, gestures, and eat the primates' food.

Findings: Chimpanzees can make and use tools (using twigs and grass), just like humans can. Prior to her research, tool-making was considered the defining difference between humans and other animals

Forensics: what can forensic anthropologists discover from human remains?  

Sex (Male or female) eg. women have a wide pelvis while men have a narrow pelvis

Age (Young or old) 

Ancestry 

Height

Cultural anthropology:

Aspects: values customs symbols language

What is culture?

Culture can be defined as: the total system of ideas, values, behaviours, and attitudes of a society commonly shared by most members of a society 

Culture is a way of living learned over time and shared by groups of people

• It includes knowledge, language, beliefs, art, morals, laws and customs

• These are all things that are learned, not something we are born knowing

Humans are not confined by culture. They change their environment and pass the changes on to their children. Culture develops and evolves.

Tools that cultural anthropologists use 

Margaret Mead 

Studied the !Kung tribe in Samoa, she found that the communities ignored gender differences until they reached the age of 15

Before this age children have no social standing the community
(ie. No rank  in the tribe)

Schools of thought in cultural anthropology

Cultural Relativism Theory: An anthropologist cannot compare two cultures because each culture has its own internal rules that must be accepted. Everyone sees other cultures through the lens of their own culture. Your example: It is a culture for people in Bangladesh to eat food with hands but here in Canada people eat with cutleries

Functional Theory: Functional theory is the idea that every belief, action, or relationship in a culture functions to meet the needs of individuals. This theory stresses the importance of interdependence among all things within a  social system to ensure its long-term survival. Meeting the needs of individuals makes the culture as a whole successful. Your example: Schools teach students the norms, values, and customs of society.

Cultural Materialism Theory: Materials or conditions within the environment (for example, climate, food supply, geography) influence how a culture develops, creating the ideas and ideology of a culture. Cultural materialists believe that society develops on a trial-and-error basis. If something is not of value to a society's ability to produce or reproduce, then it will disappear from society altogether. Your example: In Bangladesh, rickshaws are a popular way of transport. The availability of labor and economic necessity for affordable transport shaped the widespread cultural practice of rickshaw.

Feminist Anthropology Theory: Feminist anthropologists were re-examining anthropology to ensure that female voices were heard and included in research, they also compared cultures to see how many were dominated by men, how many were dominated by women, and how many were egalitarian. In forager societies, the amount of freedom women had was strongly tied to their contributions to the food supply. Your example: The role of women in the Bangladeshi garment industry, which employs millions of women in low-wage jobs. These women, despite being economically exploited, challenge traditional gender roles by becoming primary earners for their families. The studies also explore how global capitalism and patriarchal structures intersect to shape their working conditions.

Post Modernism theory: No universal truth: What’s true for one person might not be true for someone else. Questioning authority: It challenges ideas from governments, schools, or religions and asks, "Who decided this is the truth?" Mixing styles and ideas: Postmodern art, music, and literature often mix different styles, break rules, and blur lines. Example: Imagine you and your friend are both watching the same movie. You think the main character is a hero, but your friend thinks they’re selfish. Postmodernism would say both opinions are valid because everyone sees the world in their own way.

Rites of passages: three step process  

CHARLES VAN GENNEP Found that most cultures have rites of passages that follow a similar three stage process

STAGE ONE SEGREGATION: Person undergoing rite of passage may be separated from the rest of society and from his/her own original status

This change may include a
change in location or a change
in physical appearance

Goal is to strip them of previous
identity

Examples include heads
shaved, eyebrows removed 

STAGE TWO TRANSITION: Can last a few hours, days, months or years

Becomes new “self” and learns the new role

Often learning, guidance or training from a mentor

Sometimes the individual must be alone for a period of time

This is the stage of “limbo” because the person is between the two stages

STAGE THREE INCORPORATION & REINTEGRATION: Individual reintegrated back into regular society in their new role

Sometimes marked by tattoos, scars,
body paint or new clothing

In other cases, the individual gives
something up to symbolically indicate that one role has ended and another has begun

Formally recognized by the society in their new status

Kinship systems: marriage across different cultures 

Marriage defines social relationships to provide for the survival and socialization of children 

Marriage defines the rights and obligations of the two people to each other in terms of sex, reproduction, work, and social roles 

Marriage creates new relationships between families and kin groups 

Arranged Marriage →Marriages set up by someone other than the people getting married

Monogamy →A relationship or form of marriage where an individual has one partner

Polygamy →A form or marriage that involves multiple partners. There are two types of polygamy: Polygyny which is one man and multiple women. Polyandry which is one woman and multiple men

Wearing a Crown to Deflect Evil Spirits : Norway

Balancing Bread on the Couple's Shoulders : Armenia

Linguistic anthropology: have a general understanding of three main areas 

Survival = historically speaking, the need to work together to hunt for food as well as to warn others of potential danger.

There are 3 areas of Linguistic Anthropology:

Linguists compare similarities and differences of language structures so they can understand how languages are related and also how people migrated in the past. We can compare this to Continental Drift. Brain organization and size have changed over time, allowing abstract thought (frontal cortex development)

The study of how sounds are put together to make meaning. Chomsky believed that all children are born with internal, universal rules for grammar that they apply to their 1st language. So, rather than language acquisition being an entirely learned process, he believed children are filling in the details of an ‘innate blueprint’. Some Linguists say that this cannot be possible, and that language is only a learned skill.

The study of how people use language within their culture to express status and context. Example: You use different language talking to a teacher than you would talking to each other.

Body language: In Greece, you shake your head to indicate agreement, and nod your head to indicate disagreement (opposite to us)

Forensic linguistics applies linguistic knowledge to criminal investigations and trials. How people talk and write can help solve crimes, and has many times in the past!